Question: What is the difference between a Toy Australian Shepherd and a Miniature Australian Shepherd?

Answer:
Mostly size. Toy Aussies measure 10 - 14 inches tall, Mini aussies
measure 14 - 18 inches. Also many Toy Aussies tend to have less herding drive, as most breeders of toy sized Aussies realize that our dogs are generally going to pet homes and will not be used to work livestock. Some larger toys can be used to herd sheep or ducks, but trying to herd anything with a tiny toy is putting the dog in danger of being hurt.

Question: Do you have puppies available?
Question: What do you have for sale now?

Answer:
I
get these questions a LOT. I update my website DAILY if there are any changes. If I have puppies or dogs available they are listed on this website.
At the top of every page is a button that says "FOR SALE" click on the button and you can choose to go to the page where you can see either the puppies or the adult dogs I currently have for sale.

Question: What is a "teacup" Aussie?

Answer:
Teacup is not an official type of Aussie. Everyone uses the term differently. Some breeders use it to describe Toy Aussies that weigh under 10 lbs, some use it to describe smaller toys (under 12 inches).

The breed standard calls for a Toy Aussie to be 10 - 14 inches tall, so I use the term "teacup" to describe a dog under 10 inches - too small to meet the breed standard. TRUE teacup Aussies are rare, even though you'll see quite a few advertised teacups:-) You'll find that most of those will actually grow to be "regular," 10 - 14 inch, Toy Aussie size.

Question: Are your dogs AKC registered?

Answer:
No. The AKC does not recognize any Australian Shepherds except the standard size (over 18 inches). All of our dogs are registered with the American Stock Dog Registry (ASDR). For many breeders, this is the preferred registry for Toy Aussies, and all of our puppies will come with ASDR papers. Some of our dogs also have NSDR (National Stock Dog Registry) papers. We may be able to provide NSDR papers, if requested.

Question: How do you know how big your puppies will be when they are grown up?

Answer:
Good question. And there is no easy answer. Can you hold a newborn baby and tell how tall he will be when he grows up? You can guess based on the height of his parents and other relatives, but sometimes "the apple falls far from the tree".

Puppy breeders are taking their best guess based on many factors, there is no one hard and fast rule. I have found the size of parents, birth weight, and weight at weaning are not particularly good predictors. A breeder also has to take into account that different bloodlines mature differently. Some will not grow much after 6 months, yet others will gain another inch or more after 1 year of age.

For example: Our male Quigley is 9 1/2 inches tall and weights 6 1/2 lbs. Our male Hero is 13 inches tall and weighs 14 lbs. Yet, at birth
Quigley's puppies are usually larger than Hero's. At weaning, most of Hero's puppies will be just a little larger. Yet, Quigley's puppies stop growing MUCH sooner, and usually mature much smaller than Hero's puppies.

As a breeder I take my best guess, based on experience, on the adult size I expect for my puppies, but all small Aussies have bigger dogs just a few generations back in their pedigrees, so sometimes surprises happen. Standard Aussies (over 18") started to be bred down to mini size (14 - 18"), only just 50 or so years ago. And small minis started to be bred down to toy size (10 - 14") much more recently. As we get more generations of toy to toy breeding, we will be more able to accurately predict adult size.

Answer:
Great. The first step is to call or email me and tell me a little about yourself. Your history of dog ownership, where you live, the age of people in your family, your plans for the puppy, etc... I want to make sure my puppy is getting a good home and that you will be happy with your new family member. I'll make sure you have read our sales contract/guarantee, so you understand the terms of purchase. And then we will
discuss you sending a deposit, and whether you'll pick up the puppy in person, or how it will be shipped.

Question: Do Aussies shed?

Answer:
Yes, but not as much as you might think. Aussies have a double coat. The long hair you see is the top coat. The hairs of the top coat take 2 - 3 years to grow, and these hairs are not shed much. Under the top coat, Aussies have a fluffy undercoat. This undercoat is shed out every spring when the weather gets warm & the days get longer. So for a few weeks in the spring, an Aussie will shed quite a lot. In the fall, there are a couple of weeks when Aussies will shed a little, when the light summer undercoat comes out to make room for the winter undercoat.

Once the undercoat is out, they shed hardly at all. I can handle my dogs all day and not have a hair on my clothes, unless it is during shedding season.

Question: Will my puppy have all it's shots and be dewormed?

Answer:
We give our puppies the shots appropriate for it's age. According to the the AAHA guidelines, puppies should be given 3 sets of vaccinations between the ages of 6 and 16 weeks. Our puppies are given their first vaccination at 6 weeks old. If you take your new puppy home at 8 weeks of age, he will still need 2 more shots to be protected. And it will need a rabies shot at 3 - 4 months of age. You should do this according to the schedule recommended by your veterinarian.

Our puppies are routinely dewormed at 3, 5, and 7 weeks of age. they are treated with marquis at 2 days and again at 2, 4, 6, and 8 weeks of age. We have a fecal exam done on at least one puppy from every litter, to insure your puppy will be parasite free.
You will be given your puppy's worming and vaccination record to share with your veterinarian on your puppy's first visit.

Question: Will my puppy's ears stand up?

Answer:
Maybe. Sometimes this happens with Toy Aussies simply because their ears are smaller, and they don't have enough weight to fold them over. Or some have thicker, stronger ear leathers that are too strong to fold over. There is a fine balance between standing pricked ears, folded ears, and hanging hound ears.

Some puppies, as they are shedding their baby teeth will have their ears start to stand up, but then they fold back down on their own. And a diet too high in calcium at a certain age can produce thicker (stronger) ears which are more likely to stand up. If your puppy's ears do stand up there are several methods described on the internet to "fix them" so they stay folded over. If you want, I can help direct you to those sites..

All of my adult Aussies have completely natural ears, none of them were "fixed", so we're doing what we can to avoid producing puppies with pricked up ears.

Question: What health screenings do you do on your dogs?

Answer
: My breeding dogs have their eyes CERF tested by a veterinary opthamologist. They have had their patellas OFA graded by a veterinarian. And they have had their DNA tested by the University of Washington for the MDR1 gene.

Question: Can you refer me to another breeder closer to me?

Answer:
Maybe.. There are a few breeders who I know personally, or who I have had a good experience buying a dog from. If I don't have what you are looking for, I am happy to refer you to one of them. I will not refer you to someone unless I am reasonably sure that they will be honest with you and that their dogs are well cared for. I will not refer you to a closer breeder, if I have no personal knowledge of them. And unfortunately, there are a number of breeders I have had poor buying experiences with, even if they live next door to you I will not refer you to them.

Question: What health screenings do you do on your dogs?

Answer
: My breeding dogs have their eyes CERF tested by a veterinary opthamologist. They have had their patellas OFA graded by a veterinarian. And they have had their DNA tested by the University of Washington for the MDR1 gene.

Question: Do you ever leave the tails long?
Can I get a puppy with a long tail?

Answer
: Sure. Puppies born with short tails (naturally bobbed) are not that common. Most of our puppies are born with a long tail that is docked by our veterinarian when the puppies are just 3 days old. I'm happy to leave the tail natural, if that is what you want. You will need to choose your puppy, let me know you want the tail left long, and pay for the puppy in full all before the puppy is 3 days old. Long tailed Aussies are less desirable and if you changed your mind about wanting the puppy later, it would be more difficult for me to find that puppy another home. So I ask for payment in full to insure that you are serious about your choice.

Answer
: No, not as far as I know. No dog is truely hypoallergenic, but there are certain breeds that seem to be less troublesome for people with allergies. These are the breeds of dogs that have hair instead of fur. Dogs with hair do not shed, and they need to have periodic haircuts. Dogs with fur shed.